TomZ

iTrader: (2)

This was to swap trailers - we intentionally left props off to keep from taking a trip!

Port engine needs a couple of rocker arms adjusted.

Excuse the mess. The bench seat bottom needs a little love (and will get some in the off-season) and we still have some stray warning horn wires to put away. It was nice having her draw water through the pickups vs the hose.

In the video, take notice to the fact that the black transom transition stripe is out of the water. The boat had 25 gallons of fuel and me. Typically, she would sit with the white well under the water at the stern with the transom tie-downs also under water. We lost a lot of weight!

SammyJ

Looks and sounds great

badmonkey

Congrats buddy....sounds amazing.... True labor of love... Send pics of the first run in her.

Noles1

Nice job Tom, looks and sounds great! I bet that felt great to have her in the water again. I know it’s been a lot of work and a long time coming. I’ve really enjoyed following you through the process! Can’t wait to see what she does when you take her out.

TomZ

iTrader: (2)

Guys, much appreciated.

Great friend and I have spent the last couple days rebuilding the trailer… brakes and wiring. Almost done.

Maybe splash this weekend and run her around a little. We’ll see.

Carbs are being a *****. I need to baseline the idle circuits again and start over. Port is a little lazy. Starboard is much more responsive. It’s all in the 4-corner idle adjustments that can be a pain to dial in.

Hell, splashing and just running across the narrows to Chicks for a bite and then back to the trailer will make me happy!

Josh (Distant Thunder) couldn’t believe that I put her in the water without props! I can’t believe it either. Best to wait.

Funny story… while at the ramp, this British couple stopped to tell me that I didn’t have props on the drives. At first I was trying to contemplate what they were saying, then it hit me. I explained (and it still didn’t make much sense to them)… they ended up hanging out close by to watch/listen to the old girl fire up. We had a number of people come up to check her out and comment. Not bad for just swapping trailers.

F14A water jet

That looks/sounds fantastic. I love the closed cooling! I am impressed with your restraint (propless)...smart!!!

badmonkey

Tom, getting those carbs right will be a pain. Went through it after the new engine builds in the Monkey ….you’ll get it right…be patient as I know you will be. If you’re able to have a air fuel mixture gauge attached as you begin the slow process of dialing those carbs in will make your life easier.

can’t wait to see it brother. Congrats !!! You killed it !!!

Skirby12

Looks and sounds great!!!! Awesome job!!!! Love these old birds

TomZ

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Tom! Curious to see how the closed cooling works. If you remember, I changed the seawater pumps to crank-mounted. They move a lot of water. Hoping the Merc heat exchangers will keep up. If not, it should be way to swap to larger. Another OSO member successfully adapted one to a 575 (supercharged) so these should work. We’ll see.

Starting to run out of restraint… 😂

TomZ

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Chris!

I have an Innovate dual channel A/F gauge at the helm so should be a big help. I baselined the jets and PVs to original but messed around with them trying to get them started. I’ll get then figured out.